Blake Griffin: 5 Improvements Towards Becoming the Best Power Forward in the NBA

When Blake Griffin was selected No. 1 overall back in 2009 by the Los Angeles Clippers, I wasn't buying the hype. In college, I saw him as a superhuman dunk machine who relied solely on his athleticism to put up gaudy numbers at Oklahoma University. I figured at best, he would become a rich man's Tyrus Thomas. 

Two years later, I stand corrected.

Blake's rookie season was delayed by a year due to a knee injury he suffered in the 2009 preseason, but boy was it worth the wait. In addition to his breathtaking displays of uber-athleticism, Griffin showed me something I didn't think he had in him: a pleasantly refined skill set stamped with a seal of greatness.

I had to re-evaluate Blake's entire career projection. He was more than just a superior athlete; he had all the makings of a true basketball savant. He immediately broke into the discussion of the top 15 players in the league, lighting up the NBA to the tune of 22.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game as a rookie.

I believe that was just the tip of the iceberg for Blake Superior. Griffin has all the tools necessary to mold himself into the best all-around big man in basketball.

Here are five improvements he needs to make to get there.

1. Add a Post Game

Ah, what every big man aspires to... owning a multitude of slick low-post moves to score effortlessly from the block.

Griffin displayed only one adequate go-to move in the post as a rookie: a turnaround jump hook in which he spins lightning quick (so quick it looks like he doesn't look at the rim before he shoots) and releases over his left shoulder before his defender knows what hit him. He had a reasonable success rate with the shot (just from what I saw; I have no stats to back that assertion up), but that was the extent of his post-up game.

The rest of his low-post arsenal was extremely unpolished. As a result, Griffin shot just 42.5 percent on shots from between three and nine feet of the rim last season. worse than his post-up contemporaries Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Al Jefferson.

If Blake can perfect his turnaround jump hook with both hands, and throw in an up-and-under and a couple of other moves, he'll be that much harder to guard. With him already averaging better than 22 points per game, it's scary to think how an effective low-post attack would boost that number.

2. Improve Free-Throw Shooting

As a rookie, Blake displayed a knack for getting to the free-throw line, doing so 8.5 times per game. He was second in the NBA in total free throws attempted behind only Dwight Howard. Griffin managed to draw shooting fouls on 18.8 percent of his field goal attempts. He used his speed and quickness advantage against other players at his position to get to the foul line with impunity. 

What he did when got there, though, was another story.

Griffin shot a dismal 64 percent from the charity stripe for the season, missing a total of 249 free throws. His form looked good, giving me hope that he can get better with practice, but he missed some crucial free throws last year. Blake shot just 55 percent from the line in clutch situations (defined by 82games.com as the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with neither team ahead by more than five points), and also saw his draw-foul percentage dip to 15.5 percent, suggesting a less aggressive approach down the stretch of tight games.

Was this due to his fear of getting fouled at the rim and having to earn his points at the free-throw line? Let's hope not.

Griffin did show marked improvement in his foul shooting as the season went along. His free-throw percentage rose from just over 61 percent before the All-Star break to a shade under 70 percent after it. With some concentrated free-throw practice, I think Blake is in line for improvement from the charity stripe and should settle into the 75-80 percent range for the duration of his career.

3. Enhance Defensive Presence

While Blake Griffin may have been the linchpin for the Clippers' offense, he did not make his impact felt on the defensive end of the floor in his first season.

The most glaring deficiency in Griffin's defense is his startling lack of blocked shots. For a man of his size with the athleticism he possesses to not be any sort of shot-blocker at all is confounding to say the least. Blake ranked a putrid 235th among NBA players in blocks per 48 minutes last season, behind such block specialists as Baron Davis, Luther Head, and Roddy Beaubois.

Griffin has the size and certainly has the athleticism to be a shot-blocking force along the lines of a Dwight Howard or Serge Ibaka. Whether it's poor timing or fear of being whistled for a foul, Griffin is not tapping into his physical potential to be an elite rim protector.

Griffin's one-on-one defense was pretty good. He has the strength to deny post position against bigger forwards and the agility to handle the face-up games of quicker ones. Rarely did an opponent light Griffin up in a game offensively. In fact, in one six-game stretch over which he faced Al Jefferson, Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Pau Gasol, Blake held them to a lackluster eight points per game on 29 percent shooting from the field.

Griffin has the motor, desire, and athleticism to develop into a game-changing defender. If only he learns how to block a shot...

4. Hone Jump Shot

As the year progressed and opponents figured out that they were near powerless in stopping Blake from facing up and getting to the basket, defenders begin backing off of Griffin as he turned to face the hoop, attempting to goad him into shooting a jumper instead.

It was the right tactic.

I liked seeing Blake's fearlessness in shooting the open jumpers opponents offered him. He did his best not to let their contempt for his perimeter game faze him. However, he needs to improve that jump shot if he wants to make teams pay for leaving him unattended away from the hoop.

Griffin shot just 32 percent on his five attempts per game of 10 feet or longer. The league average on shots in that range was close to 39 percent.

Blake has the mechanical foundation for a reliable jumper and was very comfortable shooting it straight on from the top of the key. If he improves from other spots on the floor as well and perfects the bank shot he employs at times from the wings, he should wind up shooting close to the league average from distance.

When opponents begin to take his jump shot more seriously, it will open more lanes for him to drive to the rim, and we all know he knows what to do when he gets there.

5. Become a Better Decision Maker

The thing that probably surprised me the most about Blake Griffin's game as a rookie was his ballhandling and passing ability. Griffin could lead the break and dish it to open teammates for scores. He averaged nearly 4 assists a game, a tremendous total for a big man.

All that being said, Blake still needs to improve his decision making. Though he had a reasonably low turnover rate. Griffin still turned the ball over at a high frequency. He had the 6th most turnovers per game among NBA forwards, at 2.7 miscues a contest. He did only a mediocre job of seeing double teams coming and getting rid of the ball quickly, and he attempted some passes that were a little too ambitious.

Making good decisions doesn't just apply to passing and turnovers, though. Blake also has a tendency to play with a reckless abandon, unafraid to hurl his body all around the court. He tries to dunk over entire defenses, launching himself from gravity-defying distances.

While his energy level and enthusiasm for the game is commendable, Blake might want to tone it down a notch for the good of his team. Many of his daring aerial assaults leave spectators breathless when he crashes to the floor in a heap of twisted limbs. Clippers fans remember all too well how Griffin was lost for the 2010 season after breaking his kneecap landing awkwardly following a thunderous dunk. 

The Clippers can't afford to lose Griffin for any meaningful stretch of time if they want to remain competitive in the West. He should use a tad more caution in order to maintain his good health. Making smarter decisions is a must for Blake if he wants to assume the leadership role on the squad and carry his team into the postseason and beyond.